wooden floor on battens on concrete?

mainoo

I would like to lay a solid real wood floor in a flat that is concrete with vinyl tiles on top. I need to bury my plumbing and electrical network so my idea was to lay the pipes (insulating the plumbing pipework against heat) and then screw down battens (500mm X 500mm or more if needed to accomodate the space used by the pipes). Then lay the wooden floor on to the battens. The wood will be tongued and grooved oak and will be secret nailed.

What's wrong with this plan?
What is the maximum distance apart the battens should be?
I would like to lay insulation between the battens (to protect against cold - not for noise - I am on the ground floor). Can anyone recommend good insulating material for the environment i have described?

Thanks in advance.

WoodYouLike

mainoo wrote:

What's wrong with this plan?
What is the maximum distance apart the battens should be?
I would like to lay insulation between the battens (to protect against cold - not for noise - I am on the ground floor). Can anyone recommend good insulating material for the environment i have described?

Thanks in advance.

Nothing wrong with your plan. Distance between battens would be 35 - 40 cm heart to heart. Use 'hammer-nails' to speed things up.
(We've done the same in one huge area (90 sq m) and hammered around 1900 nails in!)
You could use polystryrone sheets for insulation (btw, you do need it also for sound insulation otherwise everything will sound hollow like a huge guitar

)

__________________
You buy quality, we'll advise. You buy rubbish, we won't!
We're proud members of the BwfA.

mainoo · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 4:14 pm Post Subject:

Thank you very much for your advice.

When you say hammer nail - what do you mean (i'm a novice but i did a search on 'hammer nail' and didn't find anything conclusive)? Is that the same as porta-nail?

Also does anyone know about sprung battens? Someone suggested them and described them as very nice to walk on. i see they are used in indoor courts a lot. would they be appropriate then for inside a home? are they expensive (again i did google sprung battens but came across only a few references to their use in indoor courts and boats and no suppliers).

Thanks again

confused 2 · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 9:23 pm Post Subject:

I should use 50mm x 50mm battens if I were you it may make it easier to stand up in the room [unless you have very high cielings]

WoodYouLike · Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 10:30 am Post Subject:

Sorry Maino, must be my English;-)
These 'hammer-nails' are in fact screws complete with plug. You drill a hole in the batten and underfloor, place the screw/plug in the hole and hammer it down. Can't find the English name, but I'm sure others will

Sprung battens are indeed very expensive and IMHO a bit over the top for domestic use.

__________________
You buy quality, we'll advise. You buy rubbish, we won't!
We're proud members of the BwfA.

2scoops0406 · Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 11:05 am Post Subject:

WoodYouLike wrote:

Sorry Maino, must be my English;-)
These 'hammer-nails' are in fact screws complete with plug. You drill a hole in the batten and underfloor, place the screw/plug in the hole and hammer it down. Can't find the English name, but I'm sure others will

I think they are called hammer fixings i.e. these, often used for stud work, heart to heart ? do you mean centres ?

WoodYouLike · Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 11:10 am Post Subject:

Thanks Eddie M, those are the ones I mean.

Heart to heart, or from the centre of one batten to the centre of the next batten

(Don't mean you have a nice discussion with your battens

)

__________________
You buy quality, we'll advise. You buy rubbish, we won't!
We're proud members of the BwfA.

2scoops0406 · Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 12:50 pm Post Subject:

Fair enough, I always thought heart to heart was a dodgy 70's detective programme, but then again I think it was actually hart to hart. I don't know so much time, so little to do, at the 'mo!!